Escaping Reality Into Dreams
by XxRuby-the-SecondxX
Summary: An angsty girl and her friend gets into an accident. What does the Naruto world have to do with them? Read and review peeps! Warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

Hello, hello, hello! To those who have read **"What We've Always Dream Of"** by **CrystalheartLover**: I'm using my other account in fanfiction to write this story as I don't want certain people to read this ficcie...heehee. Hmm...you can say this story has a kind of AU setting to it so it isn't like WWADO, for one thing the main character in this fanfic is more angst-y...0_0

xx

**Warnings:**

Hints of self-injury, anorexia, and minor angst.

Do not flame in reviews.

Don't read if you don't like it.

Constructive critism is welcomed.

Unbeta-ed.

Irregular updates (If there are any) in the future. I do not own Naruto, but I own Elaine, Nick, and the plot of course. Lol._

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_

_Info on the main character..._

**Name:** Elaine Suoh

**Age:** 14

**Personality:** She grew up as a child who never shares anything with anyone so she keeps all her troubles to herself instead. She has a tendency of putting everyone's needs before her own to prevent herself from troubling anyone. Thus, she is known as a socially-isolated person due to her habit of keeping to herself and only speaks when spoken to.

**Physical description:** Tall for her age, has dark skin and dark brown eyes. Skinny, too skinny. But no one notices as she wears baggy clothes all the time. Has short, naturally wavy black hair.

**Clothing preference:** Hates skirts with a passion, especially those short, micro-mini ones that her 'classmates' coughslutscough wear. Usually seen with khaki shorts or jeans and a long-sleeved shirt.

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"God-damnit all...! Why the hell won't they stop pretending! Tch...I hate them, all of them...especially that_ traitor_."

I was crouched in a corner of my school aka hell-on-earth. _You're probably wondering why in the world would I be here when I should be in class, right? The truth is, it's already after-school hours and everyone's gone home...except me. My parents forgot to pick me up again. Wonderful, isn't it?_

Sighing, I wrapped my arms around my knees tightly and stared at my long-sleeve covered arms. I knew what was underneath, I just didn't want to deal with it right now...

xx

"Elaine? Is that you? I've been looking all over for you!"

Nick, my best guy friend walks up to me before sitting down beside me. He has dark chocolate-brown eyes with a dark complexion to match. He's skinny too, but in a tall and lanky kind of way. Nick set down his tennis racket beside him...he'd probably finished his training an hour ago._ I'm surprised he stayed behind to look for me though, normally he wouldn't do that..._

I barely looked at him before mumbling a, "I'm sorry for bothering you...again."

"I told you already, you're not bothering me in the least, ok? So shut up before I force you to eat lunch with me. By the way you haven't eaten yet, right?"

I gave a grunt and Nick sighed, "I'll take that as a no...Alright, let's go then!" Saying that, Nick stood up and brushed himself off before he suddenly pulled me up to my feet without warning.

xx

"Hey! That hurt, damn you!"

The words were out before I knew it but I was starting to feel a tug on the corner of my lips, I tried to glare unsuccessfully at Nick and the ear-splitting grin he had on.

"Haha...I got you to talk. That'll be five bucks please."

A vein-popped on my forehead.

xx

"Shut up! I'm older than you anyways! You should be the one giving me five bucks!"

"Haha...only by a few months though! So...why don't you pay for our lunch afterwards?"

"What?! No way in hell! I didn't want to go anyways, you pay!"

"That's what _you_ think." Said Nick as he pointed an accusing finger at me.

"Stop pointing at me! Don't you know that it's rude to point! Aargh...why do I even _bother_. Let's go before your insanity rubs off of me!" I was only half aware of it, but I was already smiling for the first time that day.

xx

After the delicious lunch (Yes, it was delicious but I'll never _ever_ say that out loud), we walked down a deserted road towards our houses. _Why did he moved right next to my house! Aargh...I hate him so much!...Because he makes me smile..._

Tuning Nick's ramblings out, I smiled fondly at nothing in particular and thought, _Damn him...I swear his partially, if not fully insane mind will never stop amusing me...I'm glad I told him about my scars, he says that he care but..._At this, I bit my lip nervously, one of my many bad habits that I never grew out of.

Absent-mindedly I noticed the black clouds accumulating all across the sky.

_Hn...it's gonna rain soon._

Suddenly, I heard a car horning behind us. I turned around, and a flash of blinding white light covered my world. There was a thunderous boom. And then...nothing.

xx

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Wasn't that a good prologue? _-crickets chirping-_ Yeahh...I get the hint.

Is there anyone out there who wants me to continue? Then _review_, my friend...review. I'll update when someone reviews, kay?


	2. Chapter 2

Ohohohoho..._ask and ye shall receive_, is it? That's great! You peeps out there know what I'm talking about, right? _Rightt..._Many thanks to **xoxoFreakofNaturexoxo** for reviewing!

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**Warnings:**

Hints of self-injury, anorexia, and minor angst...as well as frequent swearing by E and N. (Lol. It sounds funny when you say that out loud...)

Do not flame in reviews.

Don't read if you don't like it.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Unbeta-ed.

Irregular updates (If there are any) in the future. I do not own Naruto, but I own Elaine, Nick, and the plot of course.

* * *

_**Where we left off:**_

After the delicious lunch (Yes, it was delicious but I'll never ever say that out loud), we walked down a deserted road towards our houses. _Why did he moved right next to my house! Aargh...I hate him so much!...Because he makes me smile..._

Tuning Nick's ramblings out, I smiled fondly at nothing in particular and thought, _Damn him...I swear his partially, if not fully insane mind will never stop amusing me...I'm glad I told him about my scars, he says that he care but..._At this, I bit my lip nervously, one of my many bad habits that I never grew out of.

Absent-mindedly I noticed the black clouds accumulating all across the sky.

_Hn...it's gonna rain soon._

Suddenly, I heard a car horning behind us. I turned around, and a flash of blinding white light covered my world. There was a thunderous boom. And then...nothing.

xx

_**Back to the present...**_

_xx _

_I can't see anything around me...I'm surrounded by darkness. Oh the irony. What happened back then? All I remember was the car...and then, a blinding white light. Suddenly a name came to my mind. Nick. Where are you, Nick?...Are you okay? Please don't leave me alone. I don't want to be alone again...Please...Unwillingly, my eyes had welled up with tears. Damn my tear sacs! I am not going to cry...I don't want to cry! I won't...!_

A single tear slid down my face.

xx

"Hey! Wake up, Elaine! Wake up I say! Damn it woman, Snap out of it!" Slowly, I could feel my senses working again and the first thing my brain realized was the fact that someone was gripping my shoulders painfully, trying to shake me awake. It _hurt_._ Very_ much so.

Having had enough, I snapped my eyes open and quickly sat up. Obviously I shouldn't have done that, as I resulted in colliding my forehead with the person leaning over me.

"Ow...! Fuck, that _hurts_!" Snapping my head up, I saw Nick crouching next to me, all the while cursing obscenities at nothing in particular. He was also gripping his forehead, which had a big red mark in the middle of it. _Speaking of which..._

"Shit! You gave me a migraine, you damn** fisher(1)**! Aargh...!" Doubling up with pain, I winced and gripped my forehead as well. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nick wincing too as he tentatively poked at the red mark. I smirked. _Touche my friend, touche._

xx

"It wasn't my fault! How was I supposed to know you were about to wake up without warning! Oww...What did I ever do to you?!"

"Haha...Serves you right! You mean other than generally annoying me everyday on purpose...?" _-wince-_

"Fine, be that way..." Nick lowered his voice. "Are you okay, Elaine? I saw you crying just now...Were you having a nightmare?"

I smiled weakly. "I'm _fine_...I was just remembering some stuff in my past. No biggie."

Nick ignored me. "Were you thinking about _Miley_?"

I stiffened for a moment before I forced myself to relax and growled out a, "I'm _warning_ you, Nick. Don't you ever, and I mean _ever_, mention that traitor's name again."

"Come on, Elaine...She used to be your best friend, remember?"

I snorted. "Yeah, keyword being _used_. As in, not anymore. Alright, I'm tired of sitting on the road, let's go home _asap_."

Nick sweatdropped. "You're changing the subject, but anyways...let's go!"

xx

Together we stood up and brushed ourselves off. And_ froze_.

_What. The. Hell...?_

We weren't sitting on a tar road...we were sitting on some kind of forest's floor. Where there were houses in front of us a moment ago, there now stood tall gates staring back at us. But what was even _more_ surprising, was the fact that we could read the big kanji symbols painted on it: _**The Gates of Konoha.**_

xx

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**(1) My personal swear-word. Steal it and die. Lol. Just joking...I think.**

I'm surprised (in a good way) that this ficcie would get a review after being posted, like, yesterday? And I'm surprised at myself for posting another chapter the next day. Wow. So...can you guys (and girls) out there surprise me by giving me 2 more reviews? I hope so...Oh well, see you peeps next chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

First of all...many thanks to **Baka of the Funk** for reviewing, as well as very good advice from **ScarletImperfectionist**...! Cheers to them! Yes, and I realized that being desperate for reviews isn't a very good thing for my image...it makes me look, well, desperate. Lol. 'Tis okay though, I shall turn myself into a new personality!...or something like that. ;D

xx

**Warnings:**

This chapter's more humor-ish, I think. Very vague hints of minor angst...as well as some swearing by Elaine and Nick.

Do not flame in reviews.

Don't read if you don't like it.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Unbeta-ed.

Irregular updates (If there are any) in the future. I do not own Naruto, but I own Elaine, Nick, and the plot of course.

* * *

**_Where we left off:_**

Together we stood up and brushed ourselves off. And _froze_.

_What. The. Hell...?_

We weren't sitting on a tar road...we were sitting on some kind of forest's floor. Where there were houses in front of us a moment ago, there now stood tall gates staring back at us. But what was even more surprising, was the fact that we could read the big kanji symbols painted on it: _**The Gates of Konoha**_.

xx

**_Back to the present..._**

xx

_Did you know that I used to be an avid Naruto fan? If someone asked a question about Naruto, I would be the first person to know the answer. I used to have super-long discussions with Miley about the hot guys in Naruto. And being the fangirls we were, you can bet there were a lot of fangirl-ish squealing involved too. That is...until she betrayed me. But that's...another story..._

xx

Nick was the first to break to break the silence. "...Ko-no-ha? Where is this place? Hey Elaine, do you know something about this?"

I didn't answer him straight away...I was too busy trying to sort out my thoughts._Konoha...that can only mean one thing, but that's too bizarre, damnit...There's no way we're in the Naruto world right now. Right...? How the hell did we manage that in the first place? Never mind about that...Nick wasn't a fan of Naruto, so he wouldn't know about Konoha. Oh well, I'll break it to him gently._

Slowly I took a deep breath and said, "Nick, I have no idea how...but we're in another universe now."

xx

"Oh I see.....**SAY WHAT?!**"

Inwardly, I winced. _So much for breaking it to him gently._

"The Naruto universe...or Narutoverse to be exact."

"Wait...back up, back up. Did you just say_ Naruto_? You mean that noisy, orange-jumpsuit wearing kid? We're stuck in _his_ world?"

_Well at least he knows the basics..._Silently I nodded.

Having no choice but to face the truth, Nick stared wide-eyed into the distance all the while muttering to himself. Suddenly, he turned and glared accusingly at me. "Why the hell are you so _calm_? Are you part of some grand-scheme plan to get me to willingly admit myself into some psychiatric ward?"

I sweatdropped. "First of all, you're so off-mark that it's not even funny. Secondly, you're_ insane_, you know that?"

At that he calmed down and slowly grinned at me. "You remind me everyday..._fisher_."

My right eye twitched a little. "Who do you think you're calling a fisher, fisher?"

"...In what way can I answer that without getting beat up?"

I smirked evily. "_None._ Still want to say it?"

"Uhh...no thanks, I'll pass."

"Hn...good choice."

xx

Nick laughed nervously. "So! What do we do now? We have to find a way to get back..._somehow_."

"Why should I?"

He turned to me, his expression was serious. "Elaine...we _have_ to go back."

I shook my head. "No I don't. There's nothing back there for me anyways."

"How can you _say_ that? Your parents will miss you indefinitely. So will all your friends back home..."

xx

"My parents have forgotten all about me. Dad's always at work and never at home, mum's always crying and saying Dad doesn't love her anymore. _Sigh...I swear its stressful just talking about them._ As for my friends...who the hell are you talking about? No one talks to me at school now, because of that traitor..." I said all that with a calm and indifferent expression.

Nick wasn't fooled though. "Elaine, I _swear_ when we get back I'll kick all their asses. Don't worry, you can thank me later."

That earned a small laugh from me.

xx

We had barely started laughing from the sheer craziness of it all, when a kunai whizzed through the air and landed where my head was a second ago. We immediately sobered up and turned to the direction where we thought the kunai came from. Shocked, our eyes widened as we stared at the person behind us.

_"You...!"_

xx

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How was this chappie? The cliffhanger was good, wasn't it? _Rightt..._I'll leave it to you guys now. See you next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry for the long update...! I have a distinct lack of common sense and initiative-ness. Yeah...a non-existent social life does that to you, but anyways...I'm falling in love with **ScarletImperfectionist**'s reviews. Seriously. They make me happy. ^_^ You peeps should learn from her. -Winkwinknudgenudge- Jkjk...!XD

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**Warnings:**

Hmm...'tis slightly confusing chapter and lacks plot too...Oh woe is me. Poor attempts at creating humor...as well as some swearing by Elaine and Nick.

Do not flame in reviews.

Don't read if you don't like it.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Unbeta-ed.

Irregular updates (If there are any) in the future. I do not own Naruto, but I own Elaine, Nick, and the plot of course.

* * *

**_Where we left off:_**

We had barely started laughing from the sheer craziness of it all, when a kunai whizzed through the air and landed where my head was a second ago. We immediately sobered up and turned to the direction where we thought the kunai came from. Shocked, our eyes widened as we stared at the person behind us.

_"You...!"_

xx

**_Back to the present..._**

xx

There stood a 20 something-ish guy who wore a bandanna with the Konoha forehead protector sewed on it. And although a pair of dark sunglasses and a mask covered most of his face, his body language just _screamed_, "**_Bad guy alert, bad guy alert!_**" There were two other guys standing behind him as well, but my eyes were especially drawn to the one on his left. _Silver hair...oversized glasses...could that possibly be...?_

xx

He sneered at us. "_Oops_...my hand _slipped_."

My eye twitched again. But before I had the chance to say anything, Nick bristled in anger and shouted at him. "Is that all you can _say_?! You almost had _her head off_, you bastard! _Apologize_ to her _right now_!"

The leaf genin responded by gripping the front of Nick's shirt and pulled him forwards. "You want to say that again, _punk_?"

"Oh, so you're a _deaf bastard_ now?! Well I'll gladly say it a hundred times _and more_! Don't think you're so high and mighty just because you're a ninja! I'll have you know, I can beat you in a match _anytime, anywhere_!"

At that, the leaf genin raised an eyebrow as his friends started smirking among themselves. "Is that so...? Hn...Well then, let's test this theory of yours, shall we?" He said, as his grip on Nick tightened.

Luckily, the guy with the silver hair stopped him before things got worse. "Let him go, _Yoroi_. I apologize for my teammate's rude behaviour."

"Tch...what ever you say, _Kabuto_. You got lucky this time, _punk_. But don't expect any mercy the next time you tick me off. _Let's go_." Saying that, he pushed Nick away before retrieving the kunai.

Sarcastically, Nick called out to their retreating backs. _"Toodles...!"_

xx

_...I swear I just saw them sweatdrop simultaneously. But wait a second...K-Kabuto?! What the hell is he doing here? Oh that's right, now I remember! **Akadou Yoroi, Tsurugi Misumi** and **Yakushi Kabuto** are one of the teams from Konoha who entered the chunnin exams! Huh...who knew memorizing unimportant names would come in handy one day..._

xx

Unsatisfied, Nick continued to mumble under his breath. If one tried hard enough, you can hear snippets of his conversation with himself such as "_rude bastards..._" and "_gonna hand their asses back to them one day, I swear..._" every once in a while.

Suddenly, he burst out, "_Who the_ _heck_ do they think they _are_?!"

I chuckled softly. "Just let it go, fisher...It's not like they hurt me anyways."

"That's not the _point_...!"

"Then _what_ is?"

_-Mumble mumble-_

"Nick...?"

"...I said I'm going to stand up for you _whether you like it or not_."

"Okaay...But I don't need anyone standing up for me _thank-you-very-much_."

"Yes you do"

"No I don't"

"Yes you do"

"No I don't"

"No you don't"

"Yes I do, and that's_ final_!"

"......"

"Shut up, Nick. Just _shut up_."

_-Stifles laughter-_ "I didn't _say_ anything, but...whatever you say _fisher._"

"_**Aargh...!**_" _-Stomps off-_

"Hey, where are you going?"

"_Away_ from your insanity and towards _civilization_!"

"What the heck are you talking about? Hey Elaine, wait for _me_...!

xx

Sigh...It seems I have a case of the writer's block too. Blame Youtube, it rot-ed my brain... _"You and me both, brother."_ Aargh...! How the hell do some people manage to write almost ten thousand words or so on only **one chapter** and I can barely manage a thousand words! "Gah! Pisses me off!" (Not really, I just need to rant off some steam for a while thanks) Oh well, see you guys next time!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey peeps, I'm back! _-__Crickets chirping-_ Hn...Good to see you too...-_-;; Anyways, here's the 5th chapter of **ERID**!

xx

**Warnings:**

Confusing plot, anyone? This chapter has some swearing somewhere...Read and enjoy.

Do not flame in reviews.

Don't read if you don't like it.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Unbeta-ed.

Irregular updates (If there are any) in the future. I do not own Naruto, but I own Elaine, Nick, and the p-l-o-t.

* * *

**_Where we left off:_**

**"Aargh...!"** _-Stomps off-_

"Hey, where are you going?"

"Away from your insanity and towards _civilization_!"

"What the heck are you talking about? Hey Elaine, wait for _me_...!

xx

**_Back to the present..._**

xx

_...You know something? I strongly dislike public speaking. (Nope, not hate 'cause hate's too strong a word for it. -shrugs-) I get really, really nervous in front of people, general crowds and the like...but somehow, sometimes when I've reached my limit, my inner me takes over. At these times, my mind runs on autopilot as my body just moves instinctively. From another's perspective, I look like a normal, laid-back girl...it's amazing really. _

_But why the sudden confession, you ask? Well, considering the situation Nick and I are in, it's natural that my mind would start defending itself...or something like that. _

_Didn't I mention it just now? Silly me. Because right now we're standing in front of two of the guards at the front gates of Konoha, and if we don't give them a reasonable excuse soon as to why we decided to just walk into Konoha and expect the guards won't notice us: **We're fucked.** ____Note to self:____ When Nick has another one of his oh-so-brilliant plans, ignore him. No wait, shut him up first, and then ignore him._

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_Flashback:_

I walked quickly away from Nick, but he caught up to me in 10 seconds.

"Hey Elaine, what do you mean by _civilization_?" Nick asked innocently._ Too bad I didn't notice it earlier though, I could have saved myself from all the upcoming problems..._

When I didn't answer him immediately, he tried again, "You don't mean to say you're going into that village, _are you_?" I stopped at the edge of the forest. If we looked through the branches, we could see the two guards at the gates. They were chuunin, but they weren't really alert of their surroundings, presumably from the lack of commotion over there.

I squinted to take a closer look. The one on my right had brown hair that stuck out from under his headband and hid his right eye. He was slightly more alert than his partner. Said partner who was currently yawning, had long, spiky black hair and matching black eyes. He also had a bandage running across the bridge of his nose. _Ah...**Kamizuki Izumo **and** Hagane Kotetsu**, I believe. Hn._

I straightened up and at the same time folded my arms slowly. Finally I looked at Nick as if noticing him for the first time. "You got a problem with that?" Nick stared at me like I was insane. _Look in the mirror first, fisher._

I raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You know you sure give _quick_ replies." He said sarcastically.

"I learn from the best." I replied in the same sarcastic tone.

"_True, true..._"

"Hey!"

"Okay, okay...Serious time now. _-Clears throat-_ So...What's the plan?"

"...Plan?" I questioned.

"Yeah, how else are you going to get past those guards?"

"Oh right. I don't know...I was thinking of sneaking pass them or something"

Nick snorted with as much grace as a tug-of-war contest. "Like_ hell_ they won't know. As soon as we get within three feet of them, they'll start throwing weapons at us."

"Fine...If you're so _smart_, you think of a plan, _genius_." That was my first mistake.

He grinned at me. "My _brilliant _plan won't fail us."

"...I hope so." Trickles of uneasiness were already starting to spread in my consciousness._ I have a bad feeling about this..._

xx

And now here we are. Two minutes into Nick's oh-so-brilliant plan and we're already caught. Apparently his plan was to march right into the village and the guards will just let us in. "We look harmless so they'll think we're new residents of the village and ignore us. See, it's completely foolproof." That's what _he_ said. _Does he think the guards are stupid or something?_

I wanted to disagree with him, but he was already heading towards the gates. Sighing, I mentally counted to three before chasing after Nick. _After all, someone has to get him out of trouble..._

xx

"State your business." Said the guard, otherwise known as Hagane Kotetsu. He and his partner were slightly taller than us, but apparently tall enough to give off a faint vibe of intimidation. We were only teenagers after all...and I was nervous. _Very much so._

"Umm...Elaine you tell them." Nick said as he avoided my stare. If I wasn't so nervous, I would have glared daggers at him right then. _Great, now they're focusing on me. Crap, what am I suppose to say...? Damn you, Nick!_

Kotetsu's partner, Izumo then added, "If you don't answer us, we would be force to regard you two as suspicious characters."

It was the final straw, instantly I felt a pleasant calmness taking over me as my body and mind acted on autopilot. Outwardly, I gave a small smile as I started moving closer to Kotetsu and Izumo. "_Now, now..._why the rush? My friend and I are only visiting Konoha on a _harmless_ trip. _In fact,_ we're thinking of staying here for a while...Maybe you two would like to give us a tour _sometime_...?" I drawled in a husky voice. Even if they tried not to show it, they were unmistakably flustered.

"D-do you have a permit?" Asked Kotetsu while he tried unsuccessfully to hide the sight of his flushed cheeks. I raised an eyebrow innocently. "Oh...? Were we supposed to have one? We didn't need to have a permit in our village..." I said in a surprised tone.

"Well, usually we wouldn't allow anyone in without a permit...but I guess exceptions can be made once in a while...-"

"That's wonderful, thank you so much! C'mon Elaine let's go!" Nick cut in before dragging Elaine after him around the corner. Just before they disappeared from view, Elaine turned around and blew them a mock kiss. "We'll see you again _soon_...!"

xx

A few blocks later, Nick finally stopped in front of what looked like a hospital. He turned and suddenly grinned at me before he said, "That was _awesome_, I didn't know you had it in you, Elaine! Did you see their faces? Where the _hell_ did you learn to do_ that_?"

I just smiled and nodded...before fainting dead away.

xx

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Wow...this was an unexpectedly long-er chappie...I'm proud of myself, I have passed the 5 thousand words point! Are you proud of me too? _I'm sure..._Until next time, then!


	6. Chapter 6

I have the strangest feeling that I'm the only one reading this fanfic. Even when I'm the author and all, but it's kinda sad really…No matter! I like to think of myself as a being who isn't dependant on reviews! Although reviews make me laugh insanely when I'm alone…No, seriously…-_-;;

xx

**Warnings:**

Swearing. (That's why this fanfic is rated **T**)

Do not flame in reviews.

Don't read if you don't like it.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Unbeta-ed.

Irregular updates (If there are any) in the future. I do not own Naruto, but I own Elaine, Nick, and the _plot-te_. (You know, like shop; _shoppe_? Never mind, I'm sure you get it…)

* * *

_**Where we left off:**_

A few blocks later, Nick finally stopped in front of what looked like a hospital. He turned and suddenly grinned at me before he said, "That was _awesome_, I didn't know you had it in you, Elaine! Did you see their faces? Where the _hell_ did you learn to do _that_?"

I just smiled and nodded...before fainting dead away.

xx

_**Back to the present…**_

xx

Nick barely reacted, when a flash of green appeared out of nowhere and a pair of arms managed to catch Elaine's falling body before it could hit the ground. Later he learned that the flash of green he saw was from the chuunin vest that the stranger wore. _Damn, another bad guy…?!_

"Hey! Let her go you bastard!" Instead of thanking said stranger, he rudely, but gently snatched Elaine's unconscious body from the stranger's arms. Nick cradled her close to him as he tried to put as much distance as he could between the stranger and them. Nick glared distrustfully at the stranger. He wore a green chuunin vest and his spiky brown hair was tied in a ponytail. There was a scar running across the bridge of his nose. But what was most surprising was the concerned look on the guy's face.

Feeling a little unnerved, Nick slowly stood up albeit a little unsteady with Elaine's body still in his arms. _Shit…why the hell is she still so light? _The brown-haired guy made an attempt to help him, but drew back when Nick shot him a glare.

"Ah…You should bring her to the hospital-"

Nick interrupted him. "Tch! You think I don't know that! Damn woman hates hospitals…! And I don't intend to pay for any damage she makes!"

Nick started to walk away from him.

"…But-"

Nick stopped and looked back at him. "Look, of you really want to help us, then help us find a place to rest for a while."

"My apartment's nearby, if you don't mind…umm…"

"The name's Nick, and this troublesome woman here is called Elaine"

"Umino Iruka. So Nick-kun, if you don't mind, please come and rest there for a while. I'm sure Elaine-chan would like that." Said Iruka.

To his surprise, Nick suddenly burst out in laughter. _As Elaine would say, the ice was officially broken._ "Hahahaha…That sounded too f-funny! Oww my s-stomach hurts, hahahah…You Japanese sure are hilarious…haaha" As he wiped away his tears of laughter Nick noticed Iruka's confused expression. He chuckled. "Stop with the formalities, it'll sound too funny otherwise. You just call us Nick and Elaine and we'll call you Iruka, how does that sound?"

"…Nick and…Elaine…"

"That's the spirit! I would pat you on the back but my arms are kinda busy right now."

"Ah…gomen, gomen. Let's hurry then."

xx

Nick chuckled out loud as he remembered the jokes Iruka told just now. _Man, that guy is hilarious! I can't believe I thought he was a bad guy before!_ Suddenly, he saw a small movement at the corner of his eye. Elaine was finally stirring.

Nick smirked and said, "Heh…good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"Shut up, Nick." Elaine automatically replied. "Ugh…I have a migraine, where am I?" She said as she tried to sit up. Nick quickly pushed her back down though."Nuh-uh. No sitting up for you until Iruka comes back."

She muttered softly to herself. "Since when do you give orders…" Suddenly her brain registered his words. "Wait, did you say Iruka…?"

"Yeah, he's a really funny guy once you get to know hi-"

"Where, when and how?" Elaine interrupted him. Nick rolled his eyes. "You're so polite, aren't you?"

"Shut up Nick, just tell me!"

"Okay, shutting up now."

Elaine gritted her teeth. "Nick, tell me now or I _swear_ you won't be a father anytime soon."

At that, Nick held up his hands. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you…You see, Iruka caught you right after you fainted. And I thought he was a bad guy so I snatched you back. Then I was going to find someplace to rest, but Iruka said his place was nearby so we went to his apartment. On the way, he told some kick-ass jokes and we laughed our asses off for a while. We decided to put you on Iruka's bed first, then he went out to buy some food for us and he hasn't come back yet. A few minutes later you woke up and threatened my manhood. The End."

As soon as he finished that little speech of his, he stood up and mock-bowed to non-existent applause. "Thank you, thank you. The pleasure's all mine, folks!" Beside him Elaine's head was bowed, but her body was shaking. She tightened her fist and then-

_**SMACK!**_

"Oww…" Nick winced as he clutched his throbbing head. Elaine just brushed invisible dust from her hands and looked innocent. "Just so you know, that was a shitty story. But since it's you, it's to be expected I suppose," she shrugged.

"_Gee, thanks…_" Nick said sarcastically.

xx

Suddenly they heard someone shouting outside the apartment. _Is it just me or is it getting louder by the second?_ "IRUKA-SENSEI, IRUKA-SENSEI!" Without so much as a warning, the door was flung open and a blonde blur sped in.

_Elaine can hardly remember the last time someone hugged her. Especially a boy. __When Miley and I were still best friends, I remember our hugs were always awkward and short. I avoided hugging her after that. Ironically, a boy is hugging me right now. A certain blonde-haired, orange jumpsuit-wearing, 13-year-old boy with whisker-markings on his cheeks…_

"_**Naruto?!**_"

* * *

Hahaha...How was this chapter? Why it's quite interesting, don't you think so too? Well of course I do, since I'm just answering myself. Oh, what the heck! I'll see myself next chapter, bye...! ;D


	7. Chapter 7

This chapter is dedicated to **dragoncrazy247** who _reviewed_...! God bless her soul. I'm glad someone other than me is still reading this half-abandoned fanfic. It's been a while, peeps! I hope this chapter's up to your expectations!

xx

**Warnings:**

Swearing. (Bits and pieces here and there, but what do you expect?)

Do not flame in reviews.

Don't read if you don't like it.

Constructive criticism is welcomed.

Unbeta-ed.

Irregular updates (If there are any) in the future. I do not own Naruto, but I hold Elaine, Nick and the plot hostage until further notice! Mwahahahaha…ha.

* * *

_**Where we left off:**_

Suddenly they heard someone shouting outside the apartment_. Is it just me or is it getting louder by the second?_ "IRUKA-SENSEI, IRUKA-SENSEI!" Without so much as a warning, the door was flung open and a blonde blur sped in.

_Elaine can hardly remember the last time someone hugged her. Especially a boy. When Miley and I were still best friends, I remember our hugs were always awkward and short. I avoided hugging her after that. Ironically, a boy is hugging me right now. A certain blonde-haired, orange jumpsuit-wearing, 13-year-old boy with whisker-markings on his cheeks…_

"_**Naruto?!"**_

xx

_**Back to the present…**_

xx

_You know…this would be a memorable moment…If it weren't for the fact that __**the**__ Naruto's arms are currently crushing my ribs!_ As if hearing her thoughts, Nick decided at that moment to sock Naruto in the jaw. Thus, effectively releasing Naruto's death grip on me and gaining a deep purple bruise on his knuckles at the same time.

"Owww…! That freakin' hurt! Ow, ow, ow…" Howling in pain he nursed his wounds in his 'Corner of Woe' in anything but silence as I ignored him and turned to a seemingly unaffected Naruto instead. If not for the confused look in his eyes and the slowly forming bruise on his lower right jaw, I could have sworn he did not just get hit by Nick seconds ago.

"Eh? Who are you two?" Were the first words Naruto spoke to us.

A little indignant, I retorted back, "Shouldn't we be the ones asking that? Is it normal for you to go around hugging random girls you see!"

At that, Naruto had the audacity to blush as he softly apologized, "I'm sorry, I guess I was a little too excited just now. You see, I just got back from a mission and I haven't seen Iruka-sensei in a while so…-He-hey...!"

_Hmmph! This idiot…how can one stay mad at him?_ Already smiling, I was too busy ruffling the idiotic blonde's hair to hear Nick's protests at my lack of anger towards the blonde genin.

xx

Realizing he was just forgiven, Naruto grinned before yelling at the top of his lungs, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! And I'm going to be the next Hokage! Dattebayo!"

Inwardly, I winced. Nick, on the other hand, did nothing to hide his clearly annoyed expression from Naruto. _Oh boy…_ "Hey midget, haven't you heard of the word 'whisper'?"

Frowning, Naruto retorted back, "Teme! I can beat you in a match right now!"

Growling under his breath, Nick glared down at the object of his annoyance. "Is that a challenge, midget…?"

"What if it is, teme!" Further provoking Nick and returning the glare with his own, their glaring match actually created an illusion with electricity flying between them, causing Elaine to rub her eyes before stepping in between them.

"Okay, okay…We get it, you hate each other. Wonderful. At least introduce yourself too before you start killing each other. By the way, my name's Elaine and this fisher here, is Nick. Please take good care of us." Elaine said as she smiled unnervingly at the both of them.

As if they sensed the underlying danger underneath that smile, Nick and Naruto called a silent truce for the time being before the latter turned to Elaine and said, "Okay, Eli-neechan!" Amused, I raised an eyebrow. "Neechan, huh? That's true…I almost forgot we were older than you, Naruto."

"We?! You mean this teme's older than me too?!" Came Naruto's shout. Nick smirked evilly at him. "Treat your elders with respect, midget…or else! Heheheh…" At this, Naruto was staring warily at the still smirking fisher…which could only lead to one thing…

_**SMACK!**_

"Oww…You bully…" Nick winced as he clutched his painfully throbbing head. Elaine's smile never left her face as she continued, "Don't think too much about it Naruto, we're only two years older…but you may only call me Eli-neechan when we're alone, ok? For the mean time, call me Eli-chan...Oh, and you can call him Nick-teme if you like." Nick's indignant shouts fell on deaf ears as we laughed together.

xx

Our laughter was soon interrupted by a certain brown-haired jounin. "Naruto…? What are you doing here?" Two voices replied at the same time.

"Iruka!"

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Hello Nick-san-…I mean Nick," Nick's glare softened again. "Oh Elaine, it's good that you're awake now. Naruto get off of me…!" The latter quickly released Iruka from his bone-crushing hug as he gave a large bundle of food to Nick and Elaine. "I hope this is okay, since Nick said anything would be fine for you two…"

Gratefully, they thanked Iruka wholeheartedly before tucking into their food, which by the way was absolutely delicious. While they ate hungrily, Iruka told Naruto to go home and rest for tomorrow and after a few loud 'goodbyes' mostly by the latter, Naruto went home.

xx

A short while later, Nick and Elaine helped clear the used dishes before Iruka said he had something important to tell them. When they were seated comfortably Iruka said, "I met with the Hokage just now, and he has agreed to give you two a place to live on one condition-"

Elaine and Nick barely started thanking him profusely when he said, "You two have to become shinobi."

_-Silence-_

Nick was the first to break the silence, "You're joking right…? We can't be shinobi…What the heck is a shinobi in the first place?" Iruka explained to Nick while Elaine was left to ponder her decision. _Shinobi huh? We would discover our chakra…that is, if we even have any. But we could die as well…Shinobi isn't some child's game. There's blood involved, and sweat, and tears, and more blood…_-Shudders-_ There isn't anything left for me back home, I might as well try my best with a new life here. The only thing is…Nick._

"-Elaine?" Iruka's voice snapped me out of my reverie.

"Huh? Yes, Iruka?"

"Were you listening to me?" A shake of my head confirmed this. Looking exactly like a disappointed teacher, he repeated his words. "As I was saying to Nick a while ago, if you two choose to become shinobi, you need to learn the basics first…I would be your sensei for this. So Elaine? What is your choice? Nick has already chosen to start learning as soon as possible."

I turned to Nick. "Are you sure about this? You could die you know." Nick replied in a surprisingly serious tone, "Iruka already explained it all to me. I want to become a shinobi to protect the people I care about. If we meet other bastards like the ones we met at the forest, I want to be able to protect the both of us."

We looked at each other before I said, "You're sure about this…?" A nod from Nick and I grinned. "Well then Iruka, I guess we'll have to call you Iruka-sensei from now on." At this Iruka smiled as Nick matched my grin perfectly.

xx

"Alright guys, time for bed. Elaine gets the bed and Nick sleeps on the couch while I'll tackle the floor." Sensing our protests, he hit both of our chakra points rendering us unconscious. _Sleep well, guys… Tomorrow shall mark the start of your new lives, but I have a feeling you two will be alright from now on. Goodnight._

* * *

How was this wonderful 2-month-long-overdue chapter? Let me know your thoughts and opinions, okay? See ya! ;P


	8. Chapter 8

Phew! Glad this chapter's all finished. I spent a lot of effort on this…! Even if the end result's only so-so…Nonetheless, mua shall persevere! Mwahahahahahaha….XD

xx

**Warnings:**

Swearing.

Do not flame in reviews.

Don't read if you don't like it.

Constructive criticism is VERY welcomed.

Unbeta-ed. Necessities

Irregular updates (If there are any) in the future. I do not own Naruto and blah blah blah…^^;;

.....and umm…A minor advertisement at the end of this chapter too! Teehee!

* * *

_**Where we left off:**_

"Alright guys, time for bed. Elaine gets the bed and Nick sleeps on the couch while I'll tackle the floor." Sensing our protests, he hit both of our chakra points rendering us unconscious. _Sleep well, guys… Tomorrow shall mark the start of your new lives, but I have a feeling you two will be alright from now on. Goodnight._

xx

_**Back to the present…**_

xx

"Wake up, you fisher! Nick...! Damnit, get up before I send your sorry ass to the floor!" After a few minutes of tolerating the incessant verbal attack, a pile of blankets slowly rose from the sofa, all the while emitting grumbling, growling and grunting sounds that sounded suspiciously like:

"Effing...ungodly hour-"

"...Who wakes up..._-grunt-_ 7 in the mornin-?"

"_-grumble...- _Damn woman's probably pms-ing..."

"-trying to make..._-growl-_ suffer along with..."

Unimpressed, Elaine just stared as the pile of blankets started its slow, _slow..._did I mention _**slow**__**?**_ journey to the bathroom.

"...I'm going to count to five. If you're not out here by then, don't even think of ever waking up to see morning again-"

As the last word left her lips, the blankets wordlessly collapsed on the floor. Giving one last sigh, Elaine rolled her eyes as she walked towards it. Crouching down, she put her lips as close to the general area of its ears as she could get and took a deep breath, "WAKE UP OR I'LL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!"

For a moment, there was complete and utter silence. She raised an eyebrow. _Maybe it didn't work...?_ Without warning, a blur suddenly shot out from under all those blankets. The sound of the bathroom door slamming shut following soon after was music to Elaine's ears. Humming a small tune, she sat down at the low Japanese-looking table in the middle of the room and proceeded to start on her share of breakfast.

xx

Minutes later, a distinctly more energetic Nick left his sanctuary a.k.a the bathroom and plopped down to eat his share as well. Nick was wearing a navy blue, short-sleeved shirt and beige shorts. His hands were also sporting bright blue wrist warmers. Elaine herself wore a forest green long-sleeved shirt and a pair of gray camo cargo pants._ Well...at least he looks ok. It IS better than that horrifying neon pink shirt he used to wear...that's for sure. -Shudders-_

Chewing enthusiastically, Nick was the first to break their barely-even-60-seconds-silence, "So where's Iruka? No...Iruka-sensei?" He got a piece of paper shoved in his face in response. He silently grinned as he started to read the note their sensei left them.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Dear students, _

_I have to see the Hokage on some urgent business, meet me at the training grounds at 8. Good luck for today._

_--Iruka-sensei--_

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Right, 8 o'clock huh...Glancing at the only clock in Iruka's apartment, he started. "What the-...it's only half past 6...?" Silence ensued over the next 10 seconds before the information finally sank in, "WHAT THE HELL! Elaineeeeeee...! What's with the freakin' wakeup call huh?! What have I done to have my beauty sleep interrupted for no good-"

"Do you even know where the training grounds are?" Elaine interjected before Nick's mini-temper tantrum could take hold of the entire conversation.

Indignant that his whining was so rudely interrupted, he huffed and retorted, "As a matter of fact, I _do_ know where the training grounds are! They're right-..........Uhh...come to think of it, I really _don't _know where the training grounds are...Eheheh..." Nick laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head.

Feeling the icy waves of hatred emitting from the direction of the only other person in the room, he quickly tried to make amends. "Umm...sorry? Ahah...hah...." His nervous chuckles were soon stifled as he saw the murderous look in Elaine's eyes. Nick whimpered pitifully when he heard the unmistakable sounds of knuckles cracking.

_**"Help."**_

xx

At five minutes to 8, Iruka arrived at the training grounds where he saw his two students looking a little worn out, with Elaine whose skin looked a little paler than usual and Nick, whose right eye was now sporting a brilliant purple bruise. Nonetheless, both of them sported near-identical smiles when they spotted their sensei.

"Iruka-sensei...!"

"Good morning to you two…Did something happen just now?"

"Uhh…not really. Nope! Iruka-sensei, let's get on with training already…!" Said Nick with an impatient tone in his voice. Elaine just rolled her eyes silently in the background.

"Okay, okay…Well as you both already know, to officially become a shinobi you have to first pass the Genin test and earn your right to have this." Iruka gestured at his headband on his forehead. This headband is a symbol and proof that you are a full-fledged shinobi. Now normally, an average genin would have already learned a number of basic ninjutsu before taking the test after one year in the academy-"

"Right! Basic ninjutsu, I can do that easy! Umm…" Nick looked questioningly at his sensei.

"Yes, I was getting to that. Today we will be learning about the twelve hand seals and memorizing them. To perform a jutsu, one uses hand seals to manipulate or focus their chakra to certain areas of their body. The hand seals themselves come from the twelve signs of the Chinese Zodiac. Who can tell me what they are?"

"Oh, I know this! There's the rat, dog, cat…pig…dragon and…umm…"

Elaine snorted before quickly turning it into a loud sneeze. Unfortunately, Nick heard her. "You think you can do better huh??" He challenged Elaine.

She smirked and took a deep breath, "Rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. And it's tiger not cat, stupid."

xx

Gritting his teeth in annoyance, Nick retaliated back. "Oh yeah…? You think you're such a-" Iruka quickly interrupted with a polite cough, "That's correct, Elaine. Now I'll show you all twelve hand seals slowly. Watch my hands carefully, the both of you.

* * *

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